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It's National Nutrition Month! Good nutrition is key to overall health, but poor dental health can have a big impact on your ability to get the right nutrients. Your mouth is the first step in the digestive system, so if teeth and gums are in poor shape, food choices can be severely limited. Here are some nutritional guidelines that will benefit your oral health as well as your overall health.

Get plenty of fruits and vegetables. Plant foods provide many oral health benefits:

Crunchy fruits and vegetables scrub debris from your teeth during chewing and stimulate the production of saliva, which neutralizes acid and helps rebuild tooth enamel.

Dark, leafy greens are a good source of iron, calcium and many vitamins that are good for your teeth and gums.

Go for dairy. Dairy products—for example, cheese, milk and unsweetened yogurt—neutralize acid as well as contribute tooth- and bone-strengthening minerals such as calcium and phosphorus.

Eat whole grains. An excess of refined carbohydrates can lead to chronic inflammation, which contributes to gum disease and many other ailments. However, the complex carbohydrates found in whole grains work against inflammation.

Incorporate all food groups. Strive to eat a balanced diet that includes healthy foods from all food groups. For example:

Lean proteins are essential for keeping your teeth and gums healthy.

Good fats such as those found in salmon and nuts work against inflammation. In addition, nuts stimulate the production of saliva and contain vitamins and minerals to keep teeth strong.

Legumes are a great source of many tooth-healthy vitamins and minerals.

Limit sugary or acidic foods and beverages. Acid from certain foods and beverages can weaken tooth enamel, leading to cavities. The bacteria in your mouth feed on sugar and release acid that eats away at tooth enamel, causing cavities. How you eat and drink also affects dental health. For example, if you indulge in sugary treats, do so with a meal if possible so that other foods can help neutralize the acid. And if you drink lemonade or soda, don't brush your teeth immediately afterwards. Instead, wait at least 30 minutes before brushing to give your saliva a chance to neutralize the acid.

Getting the right nutrition for a healthy body requires good dental health, so it pays to take good care of your teeth. For a lifetime of good oral health, choose foods that keep your teeth and gums healthy, and don't forget to schedule regular dental checkups to make sure your teeth and gums are in great shape. If you have questions about diet and oral health, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation.

In recent decades civilization's millennia-long search for clean, safe drinking water has become much easier with modern purification methods. Today, there are few places in the United States without adequate access to potable water. And about three-fourths of the nation's tap water systems add fluoride, credited with helping to reduce tooth decay over the past half century.

But in recent years some have voiced concerns about the safety of tap water and popularizing an alternative: bottled water. Manufacturers of bottled water routinely market their products as safer and healthier than what comes out of your faucet.

But is that true? A few years ago a non-profit consumer organization called the Environmental Working Group (EWG) performed a detailed, comprehensive study of bottled water. Here's some of what they found.

Lack of transparency. It's not always easy to uncover bottled water sources (in some cases, it might actually begin as tap water), how it's processed, or what's in it. That's because unlike water utilities, which are rigorously monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees bottled water production with less strenuous guidelines on labeling. Eight out of the top 10 selling brands were less than forthcoming about their water's contents in EWG's investigation.

Higher cost. According to the EPA, the average consumer cost in the last decade for tap water was $2.00 per 1,000 gallons (0.2 cents per gallon). The retail cost for even bulk bottled water is exponentially higher. It can be a costly expenditure for a family to obtain most of their potable water by way of bottled—while still paying for tap water for bathing and other necessities.

Environmental impact. Bottled water is often marketed as the better environmental choice. But bottled water production, packaging and distribution can pose a significant environmental impact. EWG estimated the total production and distribution of bottled water consumes more than 30 million barrels of oil each year. And disposable plastic water bottles have become one of the fastest growing solid waste items at about 4 billion pounds annually.

While there are credible concerns about tap water contaminants, consumers can usually take matters into their own hands with an affordable and effective household filtering system. EWG therefore recommends filtered tap water instead of bottled water for household use.

Sports drinks have been widely touted as an ideal way to replenish carbohydrates, electrolytes and, of course, fluids after a strenuous event or workout. But the mixtures of many popular brands often contain acid and added sugar, similar to other types of soft drinks. This can create an acidic environment in the mouth that can be damaging to tooth enamel.

Of course, the best way to replenish fluids after most strenuous activities is nature’s hydrator, water. If, however, you or a family member does drink the occasional sports beverage, you can help reduce the acid impact and help protect tooth enamel by following these 3 tips.

Avoid sipping a sports drink over long periods. Sipping on a drink constantly for hours interferes with saliva, the bodily fluid responsible for neutralizing mouth acid. But because the process can take thirty minutes to an hour to bring the mouth to a normal pH, saliva may not be able to complete neutralization because of the constant presence of acid caused by sipping. It’s best then to limit sports drinks to set periods or preferably during mealtimes.

Rinse your mouth out with water after drinking.Â Enamel damage occurs after extended periods of exposure to acid. Rinsing your mouth out immediately after consuming a sports drink will wash away a good amount of any remaining acid and help normalize your mouth’s pH level. And since water has a neutral pH, it won’t add to the acid levels.

Wait an hour to brush after eating. As mentioned before, saliva takes time to neutralize mouth acid. Even in that short period of time, though, acid can soften some of the mineral content in enamel. If you brush during this “soft” period, you may inadvertently brush away some of the minerals. By waiting an hour, you give saliva time not only to neutralize acid but also restore mineral strength to the enamel.

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